A Planet of Isolation
by grrlgeek72
Summary: Captain Anna Adams commands United Planets Cruiser C-57D, on a search and rescue mission for the colony ship Arendelle, lost twenty years ago. When she finds survivors on an idyllic planet, all seems well, but there is a dangerous secret waiting in the dark. A submission for elsanna week 2015, science fiction AU. No incest. No explicit sexytimes.
1. Chapter 1

**A Planet of Isolation-Part 1  
**

**A sci-fi AU for elsanna week on tumblr. Rated T. No incest, no explicit sexytimes.**

**Prologue:**

"_In the middle decade of the 20st century, men and women in rocket ships landed on the moon. By 2100 AD they had reached the other planets of our solar system. Almost at once there followed the discovery of hyperdrive through which the speed of light was first attained and later greatly surpassed. Other star systems were now within reach. And so at last humanity began the conquest and colonization of deep space."_

_**One year out from Terra Base, on board the United Planets Cruiser C-57D:**_

"Captain, we are approaching the DC point for the Altair system!" Kai Jorgensen, the navigator and chief engineer of the exploration ship called out to his commanding officer.

"Alright, Kai, prepare to exit hyperspace at the DC point," responded Captain Anna Adams, commanding.

She strode over to the comm panel on the bulkhead and slapped the contact that opened ship-wide broadcast. "Attention, all hands. We are approaching DC point. All hand reports to your DC stations immediately! This is not a drill! All hands, report to DC stations immediately!"

Adams cut the channel and watch the crew move to their assigned DC stations. It had been a year-long journey from the Terran solar system to the planets orbiting the main sequence star Altair. This cruise was attempting to locate survivors, if any, of an expedition sent to Altair IV over twenty years ago. An expedition that had not been heard from since a transmission reporting a successful landing and announcing that the colonists would begin exploring the new planet.

"See anything, Kai?" Anna leaned over her chief engineer's shoulder, trying to spot anything that looked like human (or alien) habitation on the planet below as the ship's scanners executed a search grid as they orbited.

"No, Skipper. If there's anything bigger than a mud hut down there, our scanners haven't been able to find it. No radiation, either, except for a pulse that seemed to scan us when we first hit orbit." He gently adjusted a vernier on the glowing board in front of him. "I'm trying to check other frequencies, but so far there's – "

"Unidentified vessel, identify yourselves or be destroyed! You have only one warning before we blast you out of our skies!" The voice that blared from the speaker was hostile and angry.

Anna put her wristcom to her lips, knowing Kristoff would synch it to the ship's radios.

"This is Captain Anna Adams of the United Planets Cruiser _C-57D! _We are not hostile! Do not attack, repeat, we are not hostile! We are on a rescue mission for the United Planets colony ship _Arendelle_, lost in this star system twenty years ago!" Anna and everyone else on the bridge held their breaths, waiting for a plasma beam or nuke to blow them from the sky.

The seconds seemed an eternity before the voice, now calmer and less hostile, replied, "United Planets Cruiser, this is Doctor Agdar Morbius, expedition philologist of the _Arendelle_. I strongly suggest that you turn around and immediately return to Terra. This planet is dangerous and I cannot be held responsible for your safety!"

Wait, what? Anna looked at her second in command, Lieutenant Kristoff Bjorgman, who was tapping his handcomp furiously. Anna made a slashing motion to Kai, meaning that he should cut the comm channel so the planet could not hear their conversations. "Well, Kris?"

"Here it is, Skipper, Morbius, Agdar, Ph.D, Lit.D, and a string of other degrees. Expedition philologist, just like he says."

Anna thought for a moment, then signaled Kai to open the comm channel again. "Doctor Morbius, I appreciate your concern for our safety, but my orders are clear and leave me no discretion. May I please request landing coordinates for my ship?"

A moment of silence dragged on, then, "Very well, although I accept no responsibility for your ship and crew, Captain. If you are carrying the standard maps, please land at the following coordinates." Morbius read off a string of letters and numbers, which Kai punched into the navcomp, then nodded at Anna.

"Thank you, Doctor Morbius. I will contact you on this channel when we land and have secured the ship." She made the cutting gesture again, then turned to Kristoff.

"Well?"

Thoughtfully, Kris looked at his commanding officer. "It sure seems suspicious, Skip. How could a philologist, an expert in words and languages, be the only survivor of the expedition?"

"We don't know that he is the only survivor, Kris." Anna spoke to Kai, "Take us down and land us at those coordinates. Kris, the scanners indicate an earth-like planet, within comfortable range of temperature and atmosphere. No special equipment required, but sidearms will be required for any movements out of sight of the ship. And I want a full guard watch perimeter set until we have more information."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Bjorgman walked away to carry out the standard preparations for landing on an unknown planet. This one made him … twitchy.

The coordinates given them were in the middle of a large flat desert-like plain, with no large vegetation to hinder the landing. When the landing ramp had lowered, several of the crew ran down, spread out to cover all approaches to the ship and checked for any possible hostiles. The crew chief got the all clear from everyone, then commed, "All clear Skipper. No threats sighted."

Anna commed back, "Clear, chief. Set standard patrol routine, make sure everyone is in sight of at least one other at all times." She turned to Kristoff and said, "Okay, let's get a ground car unloaded and assembled, and see if we can find this Morbius – "

Kai interrupted her from where he was keeping watch on the scanner screen. "Captain! Something approaching from the southwest!"

"All guards withdraw to the shadow of the ship. Blaster crews to your weapons. Do NOT fire except on my command, acknowledge!" Anna barked her instructions to her crew. They may have spent a year in hyperspace, but they had drilled in VR simulations to become skilled at all the scenarios they would need once they had grounded on a planet. She listened until all stations had acknowledged readiness, then turned to Kristoff.

"Let's go down and see what's coming. I need eyeballs on this, threat or no threat."

Kristoff nodded, checking to make sure his personal sidearm was ready in its holster, then followed Anna down the ramp.

Anna and Kristoff looked to the southwest, where a dust cloud seemed to be approaching the ship. It was moving very fast. In mere seconds, it had drawn to within about 50 feet of the ship and stopped almost instantaneously. It was a featureless white ovoid, teardrop shaped and very aerodynamic. The Terran crew watched warily, waiting to see what would happen next.

Enough time passed for Anna to consider ordering one of her crew to approach the ovoid to examine it, when the front of the teardrop suddenly seemed to separate from the body and began walking toward them. The crew brought their weapons to bear and Anna shouted, "Do NOT FIRE! Wait for my command, or an overtly hostile act. We need to understand its intentions. DO NOT FIRE unless it attacks first!"

The white apparition approaching them was made of three stacked white ovoids, and it walked on two rather round feet, giving it an odd gait. It came within ten feet of Anna and Kristoff, ignoring the weapons trained on it. Two black circles appeared on it's 'face', and a 'mouth' seemed to be making motions that looked like lips moving if you squinted hard enough.

An electonic hum came out, then words. "Greetings, Captain Adams. I am Olaf the Robot. Doctor Morbius has sent me to bring you to his home for your discussions." The voice was rather flat and metallic, carrying no emotional tonalities.

Anna and Kris looked at each other, then Kristoff shrugged. "Why not, Skip? Looks like a better ride than the groundcar, and it will take a couple hours to assemble that."

"You're right," she agreed. She turned to the officer standing behind her. "Chief, Kristoff and I will be going with the … robot. Keep our tracking signals active at all times. I'll check in at regular intervals. If you haven't hear from me for more than one hour, come get us in force. Assemble the groundcar so it's ready if you need it. Acknowledge!"

Through all of this the robot had stood impassively, making no move and making no sound. It apparently understood what it was hearing just fine, however, as it 'spoke' as soon as Anna finished giving her orders.

"Please follow me, gentlebeings." It turned and began walking back toward the ovoid, which suddenly opened a 'door' to reveal two seats inside.

Anna and Kristoff walked over to the ovoid and got in. "Please fasten your seatbelts, gentlebeings. I am not allowed to begin movement unless all passengers are secure," intoned Olaf. It had become part of the ovoid groundcar again, and its voice came from their surroundings.

"Huh, solicitious of our health, Skip? Hope that means it's not hostile – whoa!" Kristoff exclaimed as the ovoid suddenly became transparent, and he realized they were moving at a very high rate of speed. He and Anna hadn't even felt the little car accelerate.

"Must be some kind of inertial damper. Nice. Wonder why it needs the seatbelts, then?" Anna mused as she took in the blurred scenery they were shooting past. It was a rhetorical question, but it got an answer.

"In the unlikely event of a malfunction, Captain," Olaf's voice said.

Kristoff grimaced. A malfunction at this speed and the seatbelts wouldn't be much help. After traveling almost 17 light-years at unimaginable speeds, it would be ironic to die in a groundcar accident, now wouldn't it?

The ride was short, but Anna estimated they had covered at least ten miles. Agdar Morbius apparently liked his privacy. Although she couldn't blame him too much; the energies that radiated from a landing starship made the landing zone very … unhealthy to be near during that touch down.

"Nice place, hey, Skip?" Kristoff looked around as they got out of the groundcar, which promptly drove off to who knows where.

The home was a sprawling complex, surrounded by trees and flowers that were clearly native to this planet, as the riot of colors had hues never seen on Terra. There was a brook bubbling through the grounds, and it looked to Anna like it pooled into a nice swimming hole not too far away.

After a year cooped up in hyperspace, the C-57D's oily metallic stinks had faded into something unnoticed. This fresh, cool air tickled Anna's lungs with a gentle reminder of what she had given up to go into space and explore the galaxy. She took a deep, cleansing breath, trying to make sense of the smells of this place. They were hauntingly familiar, but not quite the scents of home.

"Good afternoon, Captain, Lieutenant. Welcome to my humble home." The calm, low voice startled Anna out of her reminiscences. A tall, thin man with a pencil mustache, dressed in loose, comfortable pants and tunic and soft slippers stood in the doorway. It must be Doctor Agdar Morbius.

"Uh, good afternoon. You ARE Doctor Morbius, I assume?" Anna asked politely.

"Indeed, Captain. May I offer you the hospitality of lunch? I can only assume you are as sick of preserved rations after a year's journey as we were when we landed here on Prospero."

"Prospero?" asked Kristoff. "I didn't know the planet had been given a name by the UP."

"It hadn't, Lieutenant, but the colonists chose that name once we had gotten organized. Please, this way." And Agdar gestured for them to enter through the wide doorway into the interior.

A rather long time later, Anna sat back, replete and appreciative of the cuisine the professor had shared with them. "That was amazingly good, Doctor Morbius. You have culinary skills far beyond any philologist I've ever met."

"Please, call me Agdar. Titles mean nothing here. And I can't take the credit. Olaf prepared all of the meal. I simply programmed him with the food preparation knowledge base from the _Arendelle's_ computers shortly after I built him.."

"Olaf?" Anna was startled. Robotics on Terra had not advanced anywhere near to the point where a robot could prepare a meal such as the one they had just enjoyed.

"Yes. He is quite the polymath. Handyman, cook, chief bottlewasher. Everyone's dream personal assistant, removing all of the drudgery from an old man's life. I would be quite lost without him."

Anna had been thinking over what Agdar had said. "You built him, Doc … uh, Agdar? I didn't think that sort of engineering and cybernetics skill was part of the background of a philologist."

"I had help." Agdar said nothing more.

"From who? The rest of the crew? And where IS the rest of the colony, Doctor? Is their settlement near here?" Kristoff was trying not to be intimidating and not succeeding terribly well. He was a tall, broad man, towering over Anna and even Agdar.

"Sadly, no, Lieutenant. I am the sole survivor of the _Arendelle_ expedition." Agdar's face had a distant, somber expression as he looked into the distance, his eyes focused somewhere far away.

"What happened, Doctor? Some illness caused by a local bug that our inoculations couldn't protect you from?" Anna kept her voice carefully neutral. She didn't trust this man. There were too many things unexplained here.

"No, Captain. Not an illness. Not too long after we thought we were settled into the normal routine of colonization, one by one, in spite of every safeguard... my coworkers were torn literally limb from limb."

"By what?" Anna was horrified.

"By some devilish thing that never once showed itself. No matter how many guards or cameras we mounted, no one ever saw anything."

" – And the _Arendelle_?"

"Vaporized as the three remaining survivors tried to take her off to return to Terra." Agdar's lips thinned into a grim line and he continued, "No one seemed immune, except me and my wife. It was horrible."

"Your wife, Doctor? Forgive me, but the _Arendelle_ expedition records list you as unmarried." Kristoff stated flatly.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Lieutenant. Look up Idunn Nordfjell, expedition biochemist. She and I were married on the voyage here by the captain of the _Arendelle_!" Agdar's annoyance was clear. "I can show you the wedding certificate, all proper and legal."

Anna asked, "And I take it she is not home today, Agdar?" She was trying to defuse a situation that had suddenly grown tense. Perhaps Mrs. Morbius would help.

Agdar's face fell into a profound grief. "My dear wife died a few months after the Arendelle's destruction. In her case, of purely natural causes."

"We're sorry for your loss, Agdar. It must have been very hard for you, nineteen years of a lonely existence." Anna's sympathy was sincere. She couldn't imagine being that isolated for that long without going insane. Her personality was exuberant and outgoing, although adaptable enough to survive in a crowded tin can of a starship for a year's voyage between star systems.

"I've managed, Captain. I buried myself in my work, and there were other – " Agdar was interrupted by another voice, a lilting, warm, FEMININE voice.

"Father? I hope I'm not interrupting?"

The three people sitting around the remains of lunch stood up and turned to face the newcomer. It was a girl, no, Anna thought, definitely a woman, beautiful and smiling. Blond hair almost white, eyes far bluer than the sky of this distant world, bluer than the skies of distant Terra. She was dressed in a shimmering blue tunic that came to just above her knees, sleeveless and with a scoop neckline. Anna felt a blush begin to color her cheeks as she admired the vision in front of her.

"Elsa! I specifically asked you not to join us for lunch!" Agdar's admonition to his … daughter … seemed more exasperated than angry, although Anna thought there was a strong undertone of … fear?

"You did, father, but I'm certain you didn't say anything about dessert and coffee." Elsa smiled and approached the little group, holding out her hand and saying, "As you heard, my name is Elsa, and I am all the company my father has needed since my mother died." She looked them over rather boldly and continued, "I've wanted to meet other people, though, and now two at once! You are beautiful!"

Anna found her voice and stammered, "Thank you but you're beautifuller. I mean, not fuller, but more beautiful." Internally she groaned, _"Smooth, Adams. You have been locked up in a ship for too long if you lose your poise in front of the first new woman you've met in over a year."_

Kristoff didn't hesitate. He took Elsa's hand gently and asked, "May this beautiful one get you some coffee?"

He had his most charming smile on, a smile that Anna knew worked magic on women and not a few men.

They had been friends since the Academy, and Anna had watched him find lovers easily everywhere they went. She often envied him that easy charm. Exuberant personality notwithstanding, Anna found it harder to open up to another person, and her trysts were rather more infrequent than Kristoff's. Now, watching Kristoff begin to work on Elsa, who was clearly falling under the spell of his charisma, Anna found herself … a little envious? She shook it off. She was the captain, she needed to stay in control, even if Kristoff let himself dissolve into gooey romance. It HAD been a long year, though.

Anna was pulled out of her wistful reverie by Agdar sitting down and picking up his coffee cup to take a sip. "I suppose one day I shall be obliged to make the trip to Earth with her for the sake of her natural development."

"I would imagine, Agdar." Anna managed to sit and take another drink of coffee without spilling it on herself. "Probably soon, too."

While Anna and Agdar were distracted, Kristoff managed to drift toward the patio, his light touch on Elsa's hand naturally bringing her along with him. They stood just outside the door, within sight but not earshot of her father. He made a remark about the gorgeous flora of the garden, then said, "Your father wasn't too happy to see you meet us, was he?"

Elsa's giggle was softened by her hand held to cover her lips. "Of course not, you're from Terra! He's warned me about you, but I really wanted to see for myself."

Kristoff wrapped her delicate hand in both of his and leaned down to whisper, "Oh, I can be trusted, good old trusty Kristoff, that's me. But …" he glanced quickly toward the sofa where Anna and Agdar were talking, "Anna, on the other hand, has a reputation that spans seven planets!" He winked.

Elsa gasped slightly, "Oh, dear. What does she do?"

"Well, I don't feel free to discuss the shortcomings of a fellow officer, but any girl or woman who lets her get her alone, anywhere. Tch, tch, tch." Kristoff shook his head in mock sorrow.

"Yes, I can see it now. There, just then when she looked at me, her eyes almost had fire in them. I'm so glad you don't have any fire in your eyes, Lieutenant," Elsa said and Kristoff winced at this 'compliment'.

"Hey, I'm not that harmless! I mean, of course, Elsa. No fire here. Trusty Kristoff, like I said."

"Elsa, my dear, would you join us, please?" Agdar's voice was calling out to his daughter. She smiled at Kristoff and pulled him back into the house.

"Darling, the Captain here is concerned that you feel constrained in some way. Would you mind reassuring her?" Agdar explained.

"Constrained? How could I be constrained? I have you, I have Olaf to play with, I have all my friends – "

"Wait, what?" Anna interrupted. "I thought there were no other survivors?"

"There aren't, Captain. Elsa, dear, please show the Captain who you are talking about." Agdar stood and gestured toward the garden.

Elsa walked out of the house to the patio again, followed by the other three. She closed her eyes in concentration, and after a few moments, several small white 'creatures' hopped into view from out of the bushes.

Startled, Anna and Kristoff watched as Elsa stooped and held out her hand, and one of the little creatures hopped into her hand. She rose and turned to show it to the visitors. It looked like two … snowballs stuck together for a body, with two smaller snowballs for feet. It didn't have any hands, but two small black 'eyes' and a 'mouth' that smiled toothlessly up at Elsa, adoration clear from its expression. Elsa kissed it tenderly on its tiny head, then held it out to Anna. "Take it, Captain, it won't bite!" Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Anna wasn't sure, but she held out her hand, and the little creature hopped onto it and smiled up at Anna with as much love as it had given to Elsa.

"What is this? It feels cold, like snow, but it's not melting," Anna asked Elsa.

"I call it a snowgie, Anna. I made them." Elsa seemed inordinately proud of herself.

"MADE them?" Anna was incredulous. "You mean, built them, don't you? Like your father did with Olaf?"

"No, I mean 'made'. Watch." Elsa picked up a flower and tickled her own nose until she sneezed. A snowflake formed in midair in front of her, then a snowgie appeared and fell to the ground. It stood up, looked around until it saw Elsa, squeaked, then hopped up and down, clearly begging to be held.

Anna almost dropped the snowgie she was holding.

Agdar cleared his throat. "It's a … skill that Elsa developed over time, Captain." He shrugged. "I'm not sure how or why. It may just be something she was born with, something brought about by the atmosphere or radiation belt of this planet, so different from Terra."

Elsa was playing with the snowgies, who gamboled and squeaked, jostling for her attention. Even the one in Anna's hand hopped down to join in the fun. Finally, Elsa stood and said, "Okay, enough for today. Shoo, now, and we'll play more tomorrow!"

The little snowgies visibly drooped, but they all ran off into the shrubbery at her instructions.

"See, Anna? Those are my friends. We have lots of fun playing in the gardens and exploring around the house." Elsa explained to the still dumbfounded starship captain.

Anna was saved from having to comment at that moment by the squawk of her communicator. She raised her wrist to her mouth and said, "Adams here."

"Captain, it's been more than an hour. Everything okay there?" Kai's voice came out of the communicator.

"Everything is fine, chief. See?" Anna swung the video pickup to show her surroundings, passing over Agdar, Kristoff and the gardens. When Elsa came into view of the camera, a wolf whistle came from the speaker.

"Knock it off, chief. We'll check in again just before we return. Adams out." Anna's annoyance was visible on her face. Kristoff examined the treetops, Agdar looked … glowering, and Elsa was still innocent of the reaction her delicate beauty was creating in the visitors.

"And, if I may be so bold, Captain, how much longer will you need to reassure yourself that I am fine and my daughter is also fine. And safe. And in no need of rescuing?" Agdar asked through visibly clenched teeth.

"Unfortunately, Doctor, my orders do not cover this situation at all. I find it necessary to communicate back to Terra Base to report on this situation and request clarification of my orders. That will take some time, so I'm afraid we will be on this planet for some weeks," Anna explained, her voice stiff and formal.

"Weeks?" Agdar was surprised.

"Primarily because it will take us that long to build a communications device with the range to punch through to Terra. The power required is enormous, and it will take a while to build a suitably shielded enclosure, far enough from the ship to protect us from the radiation." Kristoff clarified. "Then, we unload the ship's reactor core, put it in the enclosure and phone home."

Morbius thought for a moment. "Would it help if I supplied shielding dense enough to protect from any known radiation, at power levels far beyond those your power core can generate?"

"Well, yes, but how can you – " Anna asked.

"I will have Olaf deliver the shielding to you at your ship tomorrow, Captain. Now, as intriguing as this has been, I must ask you to excuse an old man his foibles. Good evening." Agdar gestured to Elsa. "Come, dear." They disappeared into the house, leaving Anna and Kristoff in the garden.

"Well, I haven't gotten a brushoff like that in a long time," Kristoff said.

"Yeah, speaking of brushoffs, Kris, you know damn well that girl doesn't know what you're trying to do – " Anna started to berate her XO but was interrupted by the ovoid ground car with Olaf in it pulling up.

"I will return you to your ship now, gentlebeings. Please remember to buckle up," instructed the mechanical voice.

"We'll finish this discussion later, Kris," Anna growled as she buckled up and the teardrop shot off to return them to the ship.

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The next morning found Anna watching the approaching dust cloud, wondering what it was bringing. When it pulled up to the ship, she saw it was a vehicle rather larger than the one they had traveled in yesterday. This one looked more like a flatbed truck with stacks of dark gray metal sheets loaded on it.

Olaf stepped out of the front, and a door opened and Anna saw that Elsa was with him. Her dress was as revealing as the one she had worn yesterday, but this one was a lighter shade of blue with white highlights. She stepped out of the cabin, looked around, then walked over to where Anna and Kristoff were standing.

"Good morning, Captain, Lieutenant. I though I'd join Olaf on his errand, I was so curious to see your ship." Her smile was innocent with delight as she took in the bustling activity of the crew unloading equipment from the ship and organizing it.

Olaf walked up at that point, carrying a slab of shielding and asked, "Where shall I put the shielding material, Captain?"

Anna replied, "I'll show you. Miss Elsa, I'll be right back." She made a sketchy salute and waved at Olaf to follow her.

Kristoff took the opportunity to come up and flirt with Elsa. "Hi, there. I'm surprised your father let you come all the way out here."

"Oh, I didn't ask, and he was sleeping in this morning. It was a long night for him in the lab, so I didn't want to bother him. I knew I would be safe with Olaf."

"But maybe not so safe from me," Kristoff joked. Of course, the joke went completely over Elsa's head.

"Of course I'm safe with you, Lieutenant."

"Kristoff, call me Kristoff." He took her arm under his own and said, "Let me show you around the site a bit."

Eventually they had wandered off behind some rocks that put them out of sight of the ship and all the activity and prying eyes of the crew. Kristoff made a show of dusting off a flat boulder and gallantly sitting Elsa down. He seated himself next to her and said, "Is there anything about Terra I might be able to help explain to you?"

Elsa thought for a moment, then said, "Well, are there any customs that I might be interested in?"

Kristoff made a show of seeming to think for a minute, then snapped his fingers and said, "Would you be interested in learning about kissing?"

"Kissing? What is that? What is it used for?" Elsa had clearly never heard of the concept before.

"It's very healthful stimulation. Gives the participants good cardiovascular workouts, increases endorphins and just generally makes you feel good all over!"

"That sounds … interesting. Can you show me?" Elsa asked.

"I most certainly can. First, you put your hands on my shoulders like this. Then, I put my arms around you and – " He leaned in to kiss her when a bellow interrupted him.

"Lieutenant Bjorgman, ATTENTION!" Anna's furious command was the loudest she had ever used on Kristoff.

Kristoff jumped to his feet, almost dumping Elsa on the ground. She squawked indignantly as her arms were pulled from his shoulders. She jumped up, too, and glared at Anna.

Who was standing a few feet away, hands on her hips and an expression of rage on her face. "Return to the ship NOW, Lieutenant. We will discuss this in my office shortly."

"Aye, aye, CAPTAIN!" Kristoff saluted and stalked off. His face was contorted with a combination of anger and humiliation.

Anna watched him go, then turned to Elsa and barked, "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"What do you mean? We were just getting some healthy stimulation from kissing!" Elsa sniffed at Anna. "And don't you take that tone with me. Why are you so angry?"

"Healthy stimulation? Are you serious? You're damn lucky I came along when I did before he … he … argh." Frustration made Anna begin to pace. "I've got a crew of young, healthy, competitively selected specimens that have been locked up in hyperspace for 389 days, and you're out here wearing that, and doing … kissing! And … oh, go on, get out of here. Before I have you run out of the area under guard. And then I'll put more guards on the guards!"

Elsa huffed and stalked away to return home with Olaf, head held high and fuming at the treatment from Anna.

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" '– and then I'll put more guards on the guards!' What an infuriating woman!" Elsa exclaimed as she stomped back and forth in the parlor, explaining to her father what had happened.

Agdar tried to keep a straight face, but he was secretly pleased that his daughter was apparently angry with the Captain and Lieutenant.

"Elsa, this is the sort of thing I was trying to warn you about. Maybe now you understand why I taught you to 'conceal, don't feel'. I had anticipated something like this might happen if another ship ever came to this planet."

Elsa threw herself into her father's arms and sobbed on his shoulder. "Oh, father, you were right. I was so foolish to think you didn't have my best interests at heart. I'm so sorry."

He patted her back and said, "There, there, my child. It's fine. Just part of growing up. Now, run along and amuse yourself with Olaf or the snowgies. I have work to do in the lab tonight."

"Alright, father. Goodnight." She pecked him on the cheek and went off to her room.

Agdar watched her go, then went to his study.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Planet of Isolation- Chapter 2**

**A sci-fi AU for elsanna week on tumblr. Rated T. No incest, no explicit sexytimes.**

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**Author's notes:**

It has come to my attention that younger fans may not realize that this story is a homage to the 1956 movie, "Forbidden Planet", which was in part based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest".

This iconic movie is a CLASSIC of early science fiction movies. It set up many of the familiar tropes we expect today. Seriously, go look it up on TV TROPES, and Wikipedia. Robbie the Robot, for heaven's sake!

Even 60 years later, it stands up to modern sensibilities. (Except for the sexism, hey, 1956, okay? And the all-white male crew.) The special effects were done by DISNEY. The soundtrack was done by a husband-wife team and is believed to be the first movie soundtrack that is entirely electronically synthesized sounds.

Please, go find it on youTube or netflix or hulu or Amazon video. It's a great movie. You'll love it. This has been a paid genre-savvy announcement.

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"And just WHAT – " Anna pounded her fist onto her desktop as she roared her outrage at her first officer, " – in the name of Zeus did you think you were doing with that girl!?"

Kristoff stood braced in an attitude of attention that would have brought tears of joy to the eyes of his drill instructors back at the Academy. "Begging your pardon, Captain, she's a woman." It was a feeble excuse but it was the best he had.

Anna's glare would have gone right through the shielding Olaf had delivered that morning. "She. Is. Not. A. Woman. She has grown up on this planet with no one except her father, HER FATHER, and is absolutely INNOCENT of what you were trying to introduce her to! She is still a CHILD when it comes to romance or kissing and I had thought you were BETTER than someone who would take advantage of that!" She was breathing heavily and let him stew for a moment, then barked, "Well?"

Kristoff's facade of confidence wavered, his eyes grew wider, then he said, "Permission to assume 'at ease', Skip?" Anna nodded and Kristoff relaxed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You … you're right, I screwed up. I didn't think about that. She's so smart, and clever. When we were chatting in the garden while you were talking to Agdar, she ran rings around me in the conversation. It's like she's got twelve advanced degrees. I guess I let that cloud my judgment."

"Running rings around you in conversation isn't that hard, Kris." Anna snorted, shook her head and sat down. "Sit, you idiot."

"Agdar was right about her needing more development," Anna continued. "Just another reason to get them back to Terra and away from this 'paradise'." Kristoff could hear the quotes.

"Skip, she's off limits, for all of us. I'll make sure the rest of the crew knows that, and knows why. It's too easy to go by her intellect and forget about her growing up in isolation." Kristoff was contrite now.

"Do that. Now, go make sure we're getting the long-range communicator up and running. The sooner I can dump this pile of reindeer dung on HQ the happier I'll be."

"I always meant to ask you, what the hell is a reindeer, Skip?" Kristoff had heard Anna use that expression a lot and never got around to asking about it.

"It's a large, extinct animal from the northern continent of Europe, and much smarter than you are!" She smiled. "Okay, go, and sin no more. Or at least not until you can find someone to match your sexual IQ."

Kristoff stood, snapped off a crisp salute and got out of Anna's office before she could change her mind.

For her part, Anna brooded on the dilemma confronting her. If she had needed a lot of hand-holding, she would never have gone into a career that put her out of contact with superiors for years. On the other hand, this situation was far outside the scope of even her flexibly-worded orders, and there was something going on beneath the surface as well, even if she couldn't put her finger on it. Agdar's behavior could just be a father's inherent protectiveness of his daughter. Or … not.

"Bah!" Anna snorted, got up, grabbed her uniform cap and went out to follow up on the construction.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The sky was clear tonight, the strange stars of far-from-home twinkling, the pale light of the two small moons not enough to drown them out in glare.

There were dim, reddish lights on the ship, and the guards had night goggles to flip down if the scanners spotted something. The patrols followed their assigned paths, alert for anything that might want to explore the ship. All was quiet and in order.

The next morning Anna was again glaring at crewmembers braced at attention in front of her desk.

"Strong and Grey, last night during your watch this ship was entered and valuable government property was sabotaged. The two of you claim to have been at your posts and awake. Yet this ship was entered, the heavy-duty hatch was raised and latched back, and neither of you saw or heard anything?" Anna tried to control letting her disbelief show. But Strong and Grey had been conscientious, competent crew for the entire trip. This was out of character.

"No, Captain. Nothing." Strong answered for the both of them and Grey nodded.

She focused on the third person standing before her and went on, "And, Youngerford, let me see, you were asleep in your bunk... and you think you had a dream. A dream!"

She fumed for a moment, then growled, "Pending more evidence of dereliction of duty, you are fined one month's pay and loss of VR recreational privileges for one month." Both of them winced. On a year-long voyage, the VR privileges kept boredom from becoming overwhelming.

"Me, too, Captain?" asked Youngerford.

"No, 'me too' will stand extra watches for the next month. I will have less dreaming on this ship! Get out!" Anna barked.

When they were gone, Anna turned to Kristoff, who was standing behind her. "Well? Can the damage be repaired?"

He shrugged. "Most of it. There's one piece of the communicator that we can't fix, however. No spare, and the material is … unique. So, we're out of luck on calling HQ."

Anna thought about it. "A unique material, huh? Maybe our friend Agdar and his pet robot can help out. Grab the gear, we're going to pay them another visit."

It took the Terran groundcar quite a bit longer to travel the ten miles to the Morbius home than the streamlined version Olaf had used. Anna and Kristoff pulled up, got out of the car and approached the house. Olaf was standing in the doorway.

"Good afternoon, gentlebeings. How may I assist you?" He made no move to let them enter.

"We're here to see Doctor Morbius. We have a serious problem and need his help," Anna told Olaf.

"He is working and not to be disturbed."

"Can we wait for him until he's finished? I'm sure he's going to want to know about our problem, since we can't leave until it's fixed," she said, then waited for the robot to process this.

"I will take you to his study to await his return. Follow me." Olaf turned to lead them through the house.

As they walked toward the study, Anna heard sounds coming from the garden. "Kris, go wait for me. I'll join you in a bit." Kristoff just nodded and followed Olaf.

When Anna walked out into the garden, she heard splashing. Following the sound, she realized that her initial impression of a swimming pool had been correct. Elsa was in the water, her hair loose and spread out on the water, only her head and arms visible as she gently swam.

Elsa looked up as Anna brushed through the shrubbery surrounding the little pool. "Good morning," she called cheerfully, apparently over her anger of yesterday.

Anna smiled and said, "Good morning. That certainly looks pleasant."

"Come on in."

"Didn't bring my bathing suit."

"What's a bathing suit?" Elsa asked as she swam toward the shore where Anna was standing.

"_OMG, OMG, OMG!"_ Anna backed away blushing furiously.

"Never mind, I'm coming out." Elsa splashed out of the water. Anna had beaten a hasty retreat and turned her back to the pool.

"You just wait right there," Elsa said. "It'll only take me a second to get dry."

"I'm over here, not looking. Nope, not looking at all." Anna looked at the trees, the house, anywhere except back toward the pool where she could hear … sounds. Sounds that led to imaginings. She blushed even more.

"If that's the way you feel about it." Elsa sounded … hurt. "Don't worry. You're not going have to look at me anymore."

"Wait, what?" Anna was puzzled and almost turned around but caught herself in time.

"You'll see."

"Now wait a minute, Elsa, if you're planning on..." Anna turned when she felt a slap on her shoulder. She whirled, to see Elsa standing there, hands on hips, dressed in a gorgeous creation that was rather more concealing than her previous dresses but fit her shapely form tightly and glistened like … ice. Anna gulped.

Her face in a pout, Elsa said, "I didn't expect to see you today after the way you spoke to me yesterday."

"I'm very sorry about the way I spoke to you yesterday. I was sort of bothered." Anna admitted sheepishly.

"Nothing shows through, does it?" Elsa looked down at her dress. "I had it made especially for you."

"Oh, I thought you weren't expecting me today." Anna chuckled to see Elsa blush.

"I wasn't." She led Anna toward a bench near the pool and sat down, a sad little frown on her face. She patted the bench, and Anna also sat down, as far away as she could.

Elsa said, "I guess there's just something about me personally you don't like."

"You always look just beautiful," Anna assured her.

"Then why don't you kiss me like everybody else does?" Elsa's question was plaintive.

"Everybody? Hasn't your father warned you about strangers?" Anna gasped.

"Well, he says I'm terribly ignorant … " Elsa seemed embarrassed by this admission. " – but I have extensive study in poetry and mathematics, logic, physics, geology, and biology and human sexuality." Blushing, she went on, "Of course, that part's mostly on the theoretical side … so far."

Anna felt a deep sympathy for the girl, no, a woman, even though Elsa had no idea what she was feeling. Growing up alone except for her father, no one to share and play with, not even a mother to explain what her body was going through and how to deal with the feelings she suddenly found welling up in her. Alone on a planet of isolation.

Edging just a bit closer, Anna patted Elsa's hand and tried to speak gently. "Elsa, growing up, maturing, is scary for everyone. For you, alone here, I can't imagine. But … I can't … we can't, we shouldn't be taking advantage of your innocence with kissing."

"But why not? I want to try it!"

"And you should, and that's okay. But … but … it's hard to explain. It would be taking advantage of you."

Elsa drew back and wrapped her arms around herself and sniffled. "I'll never get kissed."

"No, no, you will get kissed, you will. But … give it a little more time, get to know people better. It's a big step and you need to know you can trust someone not to hurt you!" Anna wanted to wrap her arm around Elsa's shoulder but fought down the urge. She settled for a gentle touch on her arm.

Elsa looked at her with those deep blue eyes and said, "I trust **you**," so softly Anna almost didn't hear it. Anna leaned closer to Elsa …

Anna wondered later what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted by the crowd of little snogies running and hopping up to them, several of them bouncing up onto Anna's lap and squeaking happily. Elsa laughed and Anna had to join in, relieved to be distracted from … from what she wasn't sure.

"See? They trust you, too!" Elsa giggled and scooped up one of her little creations to snuggle it and kiss its tiny head.

Anna looked at the sun and realized that quite a bit of time had passed, so she gently put the snogies on her lap back on the ground and stood up. "Elsa, we need to speak to your father. But I promise you, you and I will talk about … kissing more, until you know all about it, and you feel you're ready for more than theory. Okay?"

"I can accept that. Thank you, Anna. I know you care, and I know I can trust you. Come on, I'll take you to my father now." Elsa stood and shooed the snogies away and the the two women entered the house.

Elsa led Anna to her father's study, then said, "I'm going to go discuss dinner with Olaf. You'll stay for dinner, won't you?"

"With your father's permission, sure. Go, we'll talk later."

Elsa smiled and gave Anna a little hug, then left.

Kristoff was sitting on the couch outside the closed study door. He had stood when Elsa and Anna walked up, and smirked at Anna when Elsa was gone. "So? That way, huh, Skip?"

"It's not like that, Kris!" It was a feeble protest. Kristoff could tell Anna's heart wasn't in it.

Chuckling, Kris waved her off. "No hard feelings, Skip. She's got her eye on the right one."

Anna decided to switch to a more comfortable topic of discussion. "No sign of Agdar?" nodding at the closed study door.

"Not a peep, not a whisper."

Thinking that over, Anna strode over to the door and slapped the switch to open it. "Let's make sure there's no back door and he's given us the slip."

They entered the study. It was empty. No back door, not even a window. Anna turned to glare at Kristoff.

"Hey! I've been outside the whole time! The robot must have lied to us!" Kristoff protested.

"Olaf is incapable of lying, Lieutenant." Agdar's voice came from behind them. Whirling, they saw him standing in a strangely-shaped doorway that hadn't been there a moment ago. "If you were looking for valuables, my daughter's jewelry is in her room."

"We're here, Doctor, because last night someone broke into our ship past all our safeguards and sabatoged the equipment we need to contact Terra HQ." Anna glared at him.

This pronouncement seemed to trouble Agdar. His demeanor changed, worry clear on his face. "And you suspect me?" Anna nodded. Agdar seemed to come to a decision. "We … must talk. It is time for more clarification of some things I was reluctant to share with you. Please, sit." Agdar sat in his own desk chair and Anna and Kristoff sat on a bench in front of it.

"Well, Doctor?" Anna finally asked after a few minutes had gone by with nothing more being said.

Without any preamble, Agdar began. "In times long past this planet was the home of a mighty and noble race of beings which called themselves the Krell. Ethically, as well as technologically, they were several million years ahead of humankind for in unlocking the mysteries of nature they had conquered even their baser selves."

Anna and Kristoff's jaws hung open as they listened to Agdar reveal that humanity was not alone in the universe. In their explorations to date, the United Planets had not found another intelligent race.

Continuing his explanation, Agdar went on, " – and when, in the course of eons, they had abolished sickness and insanity and crime and all injustice, they turned to a project that was to crown their entire history. But then, on the threshold of this supreme accomplishment this all but divine race perished in a single night!"

He looked at them sadly. "In the thousands of centuries since that unexplained catastrophe even their cloud-piercing towers of glass and porcelain and adamantine steel have crumbled back into the soil and nothing, absolutely nothing remains above ground."

Kristoff asked, "What were they like?"

Shaking his head, Agdar said, "No visual record of their physical nature has survived except, perhaps, in the form of this characteristic arch. I suggest you consider it in comparison to one of our functionally designed human doorways." The doorway Agdar pointed to was about 7 feet high at its peak, but wider at its base and tapered to a point at the top.

Getting to his feet, Agdar walked towards the doorway and said, "If you will follow me, I will show you some of their other remaining artifacts."

Following him, the little group walked for a few minutes down a corridor with gleaming walls. They came to another doorway, this one at the top of three low steps, with a control pod of some sort set next to it. Agdar pointed at the door and turned to Anna.

"Krell metal. Try your blaster there, Captain."

Anna pulled out her sidearm and fired the blaster at the door. It absorbed it without even a wisp of smoke. She ran up the stairs and tentatively, then firmly pressed her hand to the spot. "This spot should be molten. It's not even warm!" She exclaimed in surprise.

Morbius nodded, "The molecules are many times more densely packed than in earthly steel yet it drinks up energy like a sponge." He fiddled with the control pod and the door opened. Apparently the pod was some sort of combination lock. The three of them entered whatever was behind the door.

It was a large room, with banks upon banks of what looked like gauges and odd looking equipment.

Agdar waved to encompass what they were seeing. "This is just one of their laboratories. You will notice that much of the equipment seems familiar though clearly designed for nonhuman technicians." He led them to a low bench in front of a screen with three flexible stalks in front of it. Sitting down on the bench, Agdar arranged the stalks until their ends resting on his temples and forehead. He closed his eyes and the screen showed a small glowing dot that expanded until it almost filled the screen.

"What's this?" Anna demanded.

"It's a combination of a teaching machine and a computer with all the knowledge of the Krell available through this interface. I stumbled on it when I was exploring these corridors. At first, I could only puzzle out a few meanings from what the machine was showing me. But, coming here every day over twenty years, I learned more than Terran scientists have ever known," Agdar explained. He pushed the stalks away and stood up.

"The first practical application of what this Krell machine taught me was Olaf. With his help, I learned more and more. Elsa has used this for her education, as well."

Anna thought this over. "So, hypothetically, this machine would allow us to learn everything the Krell ever knew, Doctor?"

Agdar's voice was unenthused. "Hypothetically. There are some stumbling blocks. I'll show you. Please, sit here Captain, and arrange the stalks on your head the way I did."

Anna did as she was asked. The glowing circle that appeared was tiny, and didn't grow very much larger. She looked quizzically at Morbius.

"That is apparently a gauge of intelligence, Captain. It measures the intellectual capacity of the person and allows the machine to meter the educational material to their capability."

"So, you're saying I'm too dumb to absorb much of this science?" Anna said.

"No, not at all. The machine gradually increases your mental capacity as you use it. The first time I used it, the circle was barely larger than your own. This dial," he pointed, "increases or decreases the speed at which the machine feeds you."

Anna reached for it and Agdar slapped her hand away. "Don't, Captain! It's dangerous. The first time I tried it, I was rendered unconscious for days. If my wife hadn't found me, there's no telling what would have happened to me." He reached down and shut off the machine.

Kristoff had been wandering around the lab while this was going on, examining equipment and trying to understand it. He came back and waved at the rank upon rank of the gauges on the walls. "What are those, Doctor Morbius?"

"Those are power gauges, young man. Each gauge measures ten times more than the one next to it, in a logarithmic scale. Ten times ten times ten, almost to infinity."

"Whoa. That's enough power to destroy a planet!" Kristoff exclaimed.

"Yes, generated by fusion reactors twenty miles on a side, tapping into the very core of this planet. Too much power to be safe without strict controls," Agdar replied.

Anna stood up and looked grimly at Morbius. "Doctor, I'm afraid I'm going to need to take control of this technology. It's of utmost importance to the United Planets."

The look of contempt on Agdar's face stung Anna. "I was waiting for that reaction, Captain. Like most military, all you can think of is control. Well, I will not turn this over to you. It is too dangerous. I must ask you to leave, now." He pointed at the door to the lab.

When they had returned to his study and he had closed the Krell door so that there was nothing but a featureless wall there again, Anna tried to reason with him again.

"Dr. Morbius, a scientific find of this magnitude has got to be taken under United Planet supervision. No one man can be allowed to monopolize it!" She tried very hard to remain calm and rational. Losing her temper would be worse than useless.

"Captain, for years now I've been constantly, and I hope dispassionately, considering this very problem and I have come to the unalterable conclusion that humanity is unfit as yet to receive such almost limitless power."

Anna shot back, "Whereas with your artificially expanded intellect you are now ideally suited to administer this power for the whole human race?"

Agdar simply answered, "Yes, Captain. Precisely. I will share those portions I deem safe and beneficial with Terra. Other things, the dangerous things, I shall withhold until I think they can be safely shared. And I will answer to no one except my own conscience!"

"That is the most arrogant, pretentious, and vain announcement I have ever – " Anna was interrupted by her communicator.

"What is it?" she snarled into her wristcom.

"Captain, it's almost midnight. You left orders that the ship needed to be buttoned up tight at midnight," Kai's voice said.

"Alright. We'll be back as quickly as possible. Adams out." She glared at Morbius and said, "Doctor, we will continue this discussion in the morning." She stalked out of the office, followed by Kristoff.

Elsa came timidly through the door, worry plain on her face. "Is … is there something wrong, father? With Anna?"

He looked at his daughter and gathered her into his arms. She could not see the displeasure, no, hostility, on his face. "No, darling. It will be fine. I promise," he reassured her, keeping his voice warm and soothing. "Now, let's go to bed. This has been a trying day."


	3. Chapter 3

**A Planet of Isolation - Chapter 3**

**A sci-fi AU for elsanna week on tumblr. Rated T. No incest, no explicit sexytimes.**

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

When Anna and Kristoff returned to the ship, she was glad to see her orders about setting up more weapons had been carried out. Hand-held blaster rifles were fine, but if there was someone or something out there that could get past her guards, she wanted something with a little more heft available if necessary. The crew had set one crew-served blaster cannon near the base of the main ramp, and another around back where the cargo lift was.

"Kris, make sure the patrols stay alert tonight. We can't afford any more equipment losses." Anna bounded up the ramp into the ship and left Kristoff to inspect the guard. She trusted his abilities, they had served together a long time.

It was another clear night. The small moons were full, even though they were too small to give off much light. More of the the ship's auxiliary lights were on tonight, still red so as to not ruin the guards' night vision. The watch changed twice with no incident. Youngerford had drawn the last watch before dawn. She scanned her surroundings carefully, not staying focused on one thing too long. A glance at her watch to check the time, _"Dawn in an hour. Then four hours bunk time and do it all over again to – "_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shrieking scream. From INSIDE THE SHIP! Her commlink started yammering at her, "All hands, all hands! Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" and she ran to the ramp to see if there was something she could do. She felt a brush of air as she ran, but didn't think anything of it. It was just the breeze caused by her running.

Inside the ship, Anna gaped in horror at the blood-splattered walls in the communications shack. It looked like whoever had been on watch had … exploded. There weren't any pieces big enough to identify. She choked down bile as Kristoff ran up dressed in just his briefs. And a blaster in his hand.

"Report!" Anna barked.

"Ship secure, Captain!"

She waved at the mess surrounding them and shouted, "Does this look secure to you? How the hell did this happen? Who was on comm watch tonight?"

Kristoff looked ill. He gulped. Gulped again, managed to finally choke out, "Jorgensen had the watch. Kai Jorgensen, Captain."

The entire crew was now up and awake, all at their designated alert stations. Anna snarled, "Get a detail in here to … clean this up and prepare his … remains for burial." She spun on her heel and stomped out of the room before she lost whatever remained of her dinner.

When Kristoff found her in her office a while later, she had her head in her hands, rubbing her temples as though trying to sooth a headache. He certainly had one, so he could relate. Kristoff had taken time to throw on a pair of uniform pants and a t-shirt.

Anna looked up at him, took a deep breath and said, "Report." She sounded tired.

The circumstances seemed to demand decorum, so Kristoff came to attention and reported, "Captain Adams, I've interviewed all of the guards on duty at the time of the … incident. Not one saw anything out of the ordinary, no one saw anything moving, even though we have a completely clear field of fire all around the ship. Nothing larger than a chipmunk should be able to approach without being seen, yet none of the guards saw a thing."

"A chipmunk certainly didn't tear Jorgensen limb from limb, Kristoff! What in – " Anna stopped abruptly as her words sank in to her fatigued brain. She stood, slapping her desk, "Dammit! It's happening again!"

"What is, Captain, what's happening again?" Kristoff was confused.

"The same thing that happened to the _Arendelle_," she replied grimly. "We need to get out of here, NOW. Get Morbius and Elsa on board and GO."

"Uh, Skip, as much as I agree with that idea, we can't do it. Not until tomorrow. It will take that long for us to get the ship's power core back on board and calibrated for starflight."

Anna sat back down and thumped her forehead on her desk. "Dammit. Dammitalltohell. Another night on this godsforsaken dirtball with that … that THING, whatever it is, lurking, waiting, prowling, looking for another chance to feed."

She sat up. "Okay, if that's what we need to do, we take all the precautions we can. First, get a burial detail to prepare a resting place for Jorgensen. We'll have a memorial service at eleven hundred. Second, get every last man and woman on this ship getting her ready for departure as quickly as is safely possible. Issue as many stimpills as needed. They can catch up on their sleep once we're safely in hyperspace on our way back to Terra. We'll stand a full watch during the hours of darkness tonight, plus I want every large blaster cannon we have on board set up and synched together. Place them just far enough away from the ship that we won't care about them when we take off. They're superfluous on the trip back and we'll leave them behind."

"Aye, aye, Skipper." He saluted and left.

Anna took a few minutes to gather her wits, then went to the bridge. She needed to comm Agdar Morbius, and had no desire to return to the communications shack. It was a conversation she really really didn't look forward to in any case.

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

The crew stood in ranks at stiff attention near the open grave. The grave wasn't large – Kai's remains hadn't needed a very big container.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Anna intoned. She turned to the crew and said, "Jorgensen was a good man and a good shipmate. That's all the epitaph any of us can ask for. We'll miss him. Dismissed."

The crew dispersed to their duties, all except two who began to fill in the grave. Anna and Kristoff walked over to where Morbius and Elsa stood. They had driven up shortly before eleven, but remained aloof. Anna charitably assumed it was because they wanted to pay their respects, but not intrude on the crew's grief. Elsa was dressed in a dark blue dress that came below her knees and had long sleeves. She was wearing a scarf as well.

"Doctor Morbius, Miss Elsa. Thank you for coming."

"Captain." Morbius nodded, then said, "I daresay none of us got any more sleep last night after your call."

Anna looked at him stoically and grudged an "Indeed." through clenched teeth.

Morbius shook his head and said, "I warned you, Captain. I tried to dissuade you from landing on this planet. This is the _Arendelle_ pattern being woven all over again. If you remain, you will share their fate."

"We have no intentions of staying, Doctor. But I will not leave you and your daughter behind in this danger, either, as I told you this morning."

"Out of the question. Elsa and I are safe here, whatever this is, we're immune. Come, Elsa, we're leaving." Agdar took Elsa's hand and got into the ground car. The pleading look in Elsa's eyes told Anna she didn't agree with her father but had no choice but to obey.

Anna watched the dustcloud speed away as Kristoff came up next to her. "Well, Skipper?"

"They're going with us tomorrow whether he wants to or not. Section A of the United Planets expedition orders says so: 'Evacuate all civilians from disaster areas.'" Anna snarled.

"You left out a couple of key words, Skip: 'where feasible'. What if he won't cooperate? Remember what happened to the _Arendelle_ – vaporized when they tried to lift off."

"We'll burn that bridge tomorrow morning. Get this ship ready for space, Kris!" Anna stalked away.

"Aye, Aye, Captain," Kristoff said to her departing back.

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

The sun had set hours ago. The entire crew was on guard duty, some on the large blaster cannons, some patrolling on foot with their blaster rifles. They patrolled in pairs and stayed close to the ship. Anna had someone at the scanner console as well, the radar on continuous sweep. Nothing could get through this perimeter. She hoped.

Her post was on the bridge, but she had her sidearm on her hip and a blaster rifle close at hand. If something popped up, she could be down the ramp in a hot minute, but she wanted to be here, near the scanner.

"Skipper, got a ping!"

Anna rose to her feet and walked over to the scanner console. "Where?" she snapped.

"Down that arroyo to the southeast. See?" The tech pointed at the blip on the screen.

"Warn everyone. Put me on broadcast!" The tech flipped a switch and gave Anna a 'thumbs up' gesture.

Anna started talking before she hit the stairs. "All hands, intruder alert. Scanner shows something approaching the ship from the southeast. Everyone draw back inside the laser fence perimeter." That had been set up just before sunset, their last line of defense. It would fry anything foolish enough to try to approach within 50 yards of the ship. There were emitter posts six feet tall spaced every twenty feet around the ship.

She reached the bottom of the ramp and found Kristoff, blaster rifle at the ready. "Anything?"

"Nope."

"Blaster cannons 1 and 2 – fire a burst down that arroyo on my mark. Fire!" Anna ordered. Immediately, two of the blaster cannon fired bolts of plasma down the rocky canyon. Anna still didn't see anything, but nothing could survive that wash of energy. "Cease fire."

"Randall, what does the scanner show?" Randall was the scanner tech.

"Nothing now, skipper."

Anna turned to Kristoff, "We must have fried – "

"Intruder! Scanner shows a blip moving forward again from that arroyo!" Randall's voice was harsh and tense.

Kristoff didn't wait for Anna. "Cannons 1 and 2, continuous fire down that arroyo, FIRE!"

Again, bursts of bright, atomic plasma flashed down the stony canyon. Again, nothing seemed to be there.

"Cease fire," Anna ordered. "Randall?"

This time the tech's voice was hysterical, "Captain, IT'S STILL COMING!"

"All hands, all cannon, fire down that arroyo! Continuous fire!"

The blazing plasma was blinding, but not so much that anyone missed the laser beams begin to flash between two of the emitter posts. "Keep firing!" Anna screamed.

As the crew kept shooting and the laser beams kept arcing, something appeared to be outlined by the energy beams. It was huge, at least twenty feet tall, with large claws and a mouth full of fangs. It was screaming, they could hear it!

"SKIPPER, THE DAMN THING'S INVISIBLE!" Kristoff shouted in Anna's ear, never taking his eyes off the apparition outlined by the energy bursts. He added his own blaster fire to the maelstrom bathing the monster.

Anna couldn't believe it, NOTHING could survive that onslaught. Yet this beast did.

One of the crew edged closer, trying to get a better shot. The beast reached out with that impossible claw and picked him up like a doll. The monster shook the hapless crewman like a terrier shakes a rat, then flung his limp, smoking body away to slam against a rock and lay still on the ground.

"Keep firing! All hands, continuous fire!" Anna was desperate, this thing WOULDN'T DIE! And it had come for blood, their blood. And short of some miracle, it looked like it would get it.

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

Agdar was asleep in his study, his head on his crossed arms on his desktop. A thrashing, moaning sleep, muttering and struggling in the throes of some nightmare. His daughter's scream finally woke him.

"Father! Father!" Elsa was crying hysterically as she ran into his study and flung her arms around his neck, her sobs only partially muffled.

"Elsa, what's wrong?"

"I just had a terrible nightmare! There was blood and fire and thunder and I could hear it bellow and roar!"

"Elsa, be calm. You know a dream can't hurt you." Agdar patted his daughter's back and tried to soothe her.

"It wasn't trying to hurt me, it was trying to hurt Anna, to kill her and all the rest of them," she sobbed. "Please, father, you can protect them, can't you? Protect Anna?"

Her father held her close and said, "Dearest Elsa, I'm completely helpless. All we can do is hope they leave safely in the morning. Come now, back to bed." He wiped a tear from her cheek and led her back to her room.

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

Just when Anna was SURE the monster would break free of the plasma fire and laser beams to maim and kill them all, it disappeared, just blanked out like it had never been. The only sounds were the shrieks of the blasters and the sparking laser beams. Kristoff realized it first, and screamed, "CEASE FIRE! ALL HANDS, CEASE FIRE!"

The entire crew stood there, dazed, not sure if the attack was really over or that the nightmare would start up all over again.

Anna barked, "Randall? Anything on the scanner?"

"Nothing, Captain. All clear now."

The Captain spoke again on the all-hands broadcast. "It's gone. We killed it or scared it away. Secure your weapons, reload power packs to full loads, check power connections to the cannon and laser fence. Adams, out."

Kristoff had a grim skepticism on his face. "You sure we killed it?"

"No. For some reason, it … left. With no guarantees it won't be back." She thought a bit, then asked, "We're ready to go, right? Power core set up and ready?"

"Yeah, just needs the final calibration run. Takes about an hour."

"Okay, detach the techs needed to do that, everyone else stays on guard." She noticed the dead crewmember lying near the fence and fought down her rage at the monster. "Burial detail. We'll have to skip the memorial."

Ten minutes later, Kristoff came to her office to report everything she had ordered was being taken care of. Anna was just reloading her blaster rifle with a new powerpack. He saw the discarded one from her pistol laying on her desk.

She looked up at him and said, "Let's go. We're going to go collect Elsa and Morbius and get off this hellplanet."

"If he argues?" The look on Anna's face was all the answer he needed.

As they drove toward the Morbius home, Anna said, "Kris, there's something not right going on here. I'm going to sneak down to the Krell lab, get a brain boost and dig some answers out of that computer."

"Skip, that's danger – " Anna cut him off.

"Just get Elsa back to the ship. Knock Morbius out if you have to. You're big enough to carry him in one hand. I'll be as quick as I can, but don't wait for me."

Kristoff concentrated on driving instead of arguing.

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

**Author's Note:**

**The whole scene with the invisible monster attacking the ship is pretty damn scary. If you want to see it, go to YouTube and search for: "forbidden planet monster from the id by crosscheckmate" and you should get a 3:42 video that shows the attack.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Planet of Isolation- Chapter 4**

**A sci-fi AU for elsanna week on tumblr. Rated T. No incest, no explicit sexytimes. Lots of kissing and cuddles, though.**

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

When the groundcar pulled up to the house, everything was dark and quiet. Anna and Kristoff approached the door to find Olaf standing there, blocking their way in.

"Gentlebeings, I am ordered to allow no one to enter." There was no hostility in Olaf's voice, just the usual flat mechanical intonation.

Anna glanced at Kristoff, who nodded. Their hands slowly moved to their sidearms. Maybe a little blaster fire would persuade the robot.

Two beams of energy suddenly shot out of Olaf's eyes, and Kristoff and Anna found that they couldn't draw their weapons.

"Gentlebeings, I am programmed against harming living beings, but I can disable your weapons. I am ordered to allow no one to enter. Please leave."

Anna and Kristoff stopped struggling to pull out their weapons and the beams stopped.

"Now what?" asked Kristoff.

Before Anna could answer, Elsa's voice came from behind Olaf. "Olaf, I am canceling those orders. Let them in. Authorization feisty snowflake alpha."

The robot stepped aside, turned, and went into the house. Elsa rushed into Anna's arms and said, "Oh, Anna, I was so afraid that something had happened to you! I had a terrible nightmare that some monster of fire was attacking you!"

She was so distracted by the armful of woman she suddenly found herself dealing with, Anna didn't notice Kristoff slip away.

"Elsa, I'm okay, but that was no dream. The ship was attacked, I've come to take you and your father away, we need to get off this planet, now." Anna hugged Elsa close.

"Oh, Anna, I know you're worried for us, but we'll be fine. I'm immune to whatever that thing is, just like my parents. And I can't leave him alone, even though … I really want to be with you."

"Elsa, Elsa, I … can't leave you here. It's not safe. Kristoff, talk some sense into her, will you?"

When she got no answer, Anna looked around to realize that Kristoff was nowhere to be found. She gently disentangled herself from Elsa's hug, took her by the hand and said, "Elsa, we need to go, now. If you can't talk your father into leaving, we'll have to – "

She was interrupted by Olaf coming out of Agdar's study, carrying Kristoff's body in his arms. A gasp escaped Elsa's lips, then she ordered the robot, "Olaf, put him down there on the sofa!"

Anna tried to see if Kristoff was breathing when he convulsed, opened his eyes and focused on Anna. "Skipper! It worked! You should see my new IQ! Bigger than Morbius!"

Elsa and Anna were kneeling next to the sofa. Anna tried to calm him, she could tell he was hurt. There were three burn marks on his head, at temples and forehead. How high had he turned that damned switch? "Shh, Kris, we need to get you back to the ship – "

Kristoff grabbed the front of Anna's uniform and croaked hoarsely, "No, Skip, listen to me. The Krell, I know what destroyed the Krell!"

Elsa and Anna looked at each other, then back to Kristoff. "What happened to them, Kris?" Anna asked.

He was clearly struggling now, gasping and trying to breathe, but he managed to choke out, "That machine? The one … with all the power … that keeps everything down there running? They used … it … once … once they became beings of pure … mind, noncorporeal. It could … create reality for them. They could have … paradise. Anything anyone … could ever desire … the machine could create. All … all they had to do was … think it. But they forgot something … " He stopped to pant, struggling to breathe.

"Forgot what, Kris? What did they forget?" Anna put her hand over Kristoff's.

"Monsters, Skip … monsters from the id!" Kristoff's eyes rolled up into his head and his body fell limp, his grasp on Anna's shirtfront went slack.

"Monsters from the id? What's that, Kris? No! Kris!" Anna tried to feel for a pulse, but there was none. Her shoulders slumped.

"Anna, I'm sorry, so sorry." Elsa put her hand on Anna's shoulder.

Anna gently stroked the sweat-soaked hair back from Kristoff's forehead, then stood up. "He was a good man. A good friend."

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna and tried to comfort her. Anna hugged her back, too overcome with grief to object.

That's how Agdar found them when he came into the room a moment later. "How romantic," he mocked. Then he noticed Kristoff lying on the couch, ran over to feel for a pulse. He whirled to face Anna, who had broken the embrace with Elsa, but held on to her hand.

"The meddling idiot! How arrogant to think his ape's brain could comprehend the secrets of the Krell!" Agdar snapped.

Elsa was shocked at her father's words. "Father, he's dead, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"He was warned, Elsa, now he's paid for his folly. Let him be buried with the other victims of human greed and impudence."

Elsa stared at her father like he was a stranger that she didn't recognize. She turned to Anna. "I'm going with you. Let me get a few things from my room and I'll be right back."

"Elsa, no!" Agdar cried out as she ran from the room. Turning to Anna, he said, "Captain, you must convince her that this is going to end in her destruction. She must stay here or she will be destroyed, too!"

"Doctor, what is the id?" Anna demanded, not caring about anything right then except solving the mystery Kristoff had died to discover.

Agdar was paying no attention to Anna. He paced back and forth, pulling on his hair. "She musn't do this, she must be prevented from making a terrible mistake."

Anna grabbed his arm and pulled him to face her. "Agdar, what is the id?"

"Id, id, id … " Agdar seemed to realize where he was. He pulled his arm out of Anna's grasp and sat heavily on one of the chairs. "It's … an obsolete term from the 19th century. It was once used to describe the subconscious mind." He put his head in his hands.

"Monsters from the id. Monsters from the subconscious." Anna muttered to herself, struggling to put the puzzle pieces together. "That's what Kris meant. That's how the Krell died."

Agdar looked up at her and asked, "What do you mean, young woman?"

Glaring at him, Anna explained, "That machine down there, Doctor. Twenty miles of power relays and mysterious gadgetry. The Krell conquered their physical existence and became beings of pure thought. That machine could create anything they could think up. ANYTHING, Doctor."

She began to pace now as all the puzzle pieces slid into place. "These beings of pure thought, of the highest civilization known to the galaxy, they forgot one thing. The id. Their subconscious mind, the mind of the unreasoning primitive. It came out at night and used the machine to murder and butcher and commit every atrocity a primitive mind could conceive. In one night, everything the Krell had built was destroyed by their own buried hate and lust for destruction."

Anna stopped and looked out over the garden. "And that's what destroyed the _Arendelle_, and that's what's coming after me and my ship now. The power of the Krell machine, made manifest in a beast of pure energy."

As she finished her explanation, Elsa returned carrying a small bag. She walked up to Anna, took her hand and said, "I'm ready to go with you." She didn't look at her father.

He jumped up and exclaimed, "Elsa, no! Please!" She turned away from him and clung more tightly to Anna's hand.

Defeated, Agdar looked at Anna and said, "That's a fine theory, Captain. But the last Krell died out millennia ago. So how could the monsters from the id be rampaging now?"

Anna continued to hold on to Elsa. How could Agdar be so blind? "Agdar, think. Who has had their brain boosted beyond all previous human experience? Who wants to protect this planet? Protect your daughter?"

Elsa's father still seemed confused, dazed. He mumbled, "What do you mean? What do you mean?"

Before Anna could say anything else, Olaf interrupted. "Morbius, something is approaching the house from the northwest. It is quite close."

Agdar jumped up and they all ran to the patio door. In the distance, they could see trees being pushed over, as though a giant were walking toward them. "It's coming for you, Captain. I feel sorry for you."

"Don't you get it, yet, Doctor? That thing is YOU, your subconscious, coming to rend and tear at your bidding!"

"No, no, that can't be!" Agdar cried in anguish.

Anna was relentless as she tried to get through his dismay. "Feel sorry for your daughter. You think she's immune? That thing will kill her, too, because she has joined herself to me."

"Yes, father, I have, heart and soul, I am going with Anna," Elsa was crying, but her hold on Anna never wavered.

Agdar ran over to where Olaf was standing and ordered, "Kill it, Olaf, save us!"

Olaf's head began to glow and grinding noises seemed to come from his head. He slumped over, apparently inoperative.

"See that, Agdar? He knows that monster is you, and his programming won't let him kill it! You gave him an order that caused an unbreakable loop and it deactivated him!" Anna yelled.

A tree crashed into the window and broke it. Something big was trying to fit through the patio door.

"Run!" Agdar screamed, and led the way through his study and down to the Krell lab, behind the door of impenetrable Krell metal.

Once he had locked the door mechanism, Agdar collapsed onto the bench at the brainboost machine, head down on his arms, sobbing.

Elsa knelt next to him and tried to comfort him, saying, "Father, I know you're great and noble, like the Krell. Please, turn away from this!" But she got no response.

Anna watched Elsa try to get through to her father, then noticed two things: the door was beginning to glow red, and the banks of power gauges in the room were beginning to light up, more and more of them.

"Agdar!" She walked over and grabbed his should and made him look at her. "Agdar, that monster is coming through that door, and it will kill Elsa if you don't do something!"

"No, no, it can't. The Krell metal is impervious." Agdar shook his head in denial.

Anna shook him and pointed. "Look! Look at those dials! That machine will feed all the power that thing needs to cut through that door! It's tapping the core of the planet for the energy! LOOK!"

The door had gone through red, yellow, and now white, almost too bright to look at. It was clear that it the molecular structure was breaking down, pieces were starting to fall to the floor, throwing sparks as they fell. The three people in the room could feel the waves of heat coming off the superheated metal.

Agdar had slumped over again, Elsa at his side. He was sobbing, "My evil self is at that door and I can't stop it."

There was only one way to end this, Anna thought. She reached for her sidearm, drew it, and aimed carefully.

Before she could shoot Agdar, though, he jumped up and ran to the door, screaming, "Go away! I disown you! I give you up! Elsa!" He collapsed, and the banks of gauges went dark.

Elsa and Anna ran to him and rolled him over. He was barely conscious, but he managed to mutter, "Anna, go over to that console." He pointed. "Twist that dial all the way to the left." Elsa cradled her father's head in her lap and stroked his forehead, tears wetting her cheeks.

Anna did as he instructed and watched as a large switch rose out of a hatch on the floor. She looked at Agdar for more instructions. "Throw the switch," he gasped. Anna did so. There was a red glow from the banks of gauges and a low throbbing hum began, growing stronger as the minutes went by.

When she came back to kneel next to Elsa, Agdar took Anna's hand. "In twenty four hours you must be at least 100 million miles away from this planet. That was a destruct switch. The fusion cores will cause the planet to explode. The process can't be stopped." He looked at his daughter and said, "Elsa, I'm sorry. I love you." He turned back to Anna. "Anna, take care of my daughter … "

"Father!" Elsa cried out. He was dead. She buried her face in Anna's shoulder.

"He was a hero at the end, Elsa. He was a good man. But we don't have much time to travel that far, we have to go now." Anna felt Elsa's nod against her shoulder.

Even with the deadline Morbius had told them was unbreakable, Anna and Elsa took the few minutes necessary to arrange his body with respect and care. The planet would be his funeral pyre, and Kristoff's.

When they returned to the living room of the house, they found that Olaf had apparently rebooted himself. Elsa instructed him to get the groundcar. Its speed would make up for the short time they had taken with Agdar and Kristoff. She also called out for the snowgies, to Anna's dismay. "Hush, darling," Elsa stopped Anna's protest with a smile. "I can't leave them behind, and they'll add some fun to the long trip home."

They got back to the ship and the ramp was raising itself before the last snowgie had hopped its way inside the ship. Anna had radioed her instructions ahead as they raced back in the little groundcar, holding Elsa close and trying not to squish a snowgie by accident.

Not quite twenty four hours later, the ship passed the 100 million miles necessary for safety. Olaf was sitting at the navigation console and reported, "We are clear, now, Captain." Most of the crew were at duty stations, those that weren't gathered in front of the main view screen.

"Give us the countdown, Olaf," Anna ordered. She went to stand next to Elsa, then took her hand as they waited. The time had been carefully calculated to account for the speed of light from the planet's destruction.

"Ten seconds, 9, 8, ..."

As Olaf reached 'zero', the viewscreen lit up with the flare of the planet Prospero's destruction in the fires of its own core and the fusion furnaces of the long-dead Krell. Elsa shuddered and squeezed Anna's hand painfully.

"Oh, I'll miss him so," Elsa murmured.

"And I'll miss Kristoff, and my other shipmates. But in the end, he was wise. Humanity isn't ready for that much power. Maybe a million years from now, we'll have advanced to match the Krell, and with their example to learn from, we'll do better. But that's for a million years in the future. For now, we're on our way home."

"Yes, home. Your home. I'm looking forward to that." Elsa smiled .

**=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=**

Six months out from Prospero, half-way through the voyage back to Terra, the ship had long since settled into a comfortable routine.

Olaf had taken the place of Kai Jorgensen, handling navigation and communications. Learning those skills had simply been a matter of interfacing him to the ship's computers. He wasn't very humanoid, but he was popular with the crew.

The snowgies were indeed a welcome relief to the monotony of interstellar travel. They were so popular that jostling for VR time was severely reduced, as off duty crew would enjoy playing with the snowgies instead. Anna was firm with Elsa, though. No new snowgies. Even though they didn't eat or drink, if Elsa was careless the ship would soon be overrun, with snowgies on every flat surface and in every nook and cranny. The United Planets had learned that lesson. The sad tale of UP-1701 and its tribble infestation was drummed into every cadet at the Academy, its captain held up as an example NOT to be emulated.

Elsa had also taken up duties on the ship. Her education as guided by her father and the Krell teaching machine gave her the equivalent of advanced degrees in engineering, mathematics, most of the physical sciences, and of course, philology. She had absorbed most of the technical manuals from the ship's engineering database in a matter of weeks, and after passing all of the standard tests and practicums, was declared to be the Chief Engineer of the United Planets Cruiser C-57D.

Now she was almost finished with what she considered the most important subject of all. Six months wasn't long enough, she thought. She was more nervous about this examination than any of the others.

In the six months aboard ship, Elsa had learned how to make friends and how to share feelings and emotions with other people. Anna was still THE one, her one true love, if she understood the term correctly, but Elsa was now comfortably settled in her own sexuality. She was no longer naive or innocent, but a mature adult capable of giving her heart to someone freely. And she wanted to give it to Anna.

At the appointed time, she presented herself at the appointed place.

"Chief Engineer Elsa Morbius reported for final examination, Captain."

"Very well, Chief Engineer. Let me make the final preparation to begin the test." Anna replied.

She walked over to the door of her cabin and made sure it was locked, then dimmed the lights and turned on some soft music. Anna held out her hand to Elsa and said, "I believe the only remaining preparation is to make sure we are both in the appropriate … uniform?"

Elsa smiled and took Anna's hand. "I believe the Captain will be pleased with my choice of uniforms." She reached up with her free hand and tugged on the zipper pull of her coveralls. Letting go of Anna's hand just long enough to step out of them, she stood there in lingerie so delicate and wispy as to be almost invisible. The effect was so stunning that Anna gulped, her mouth suddenly dry at the vision standing before her.

Her gaze didn't waver even as Elsa reached over and tugged on Anna's zipper, quickly divesting the captain of her coveralls. Anna blushed at Elsa giggles when she found that Anna did not have any … lingerie, choosing instead to be bare. "Hey, pretty things like that aren't standard United Planets issue!" Anna protested.

Elsa closed the few inches between them to embrace Anna and murmur in her ear, "I'm pleased, actually, it will save me time, dearest one." She moved her lips to Anna's and kissed her, slowly and thoroughly.

Anna returned the kiss and began the examination. Of Elsa.

Olaf had instructions that the Captain's cabin was not to be disturbed for the next twenty four hours for any reason short of a core breach. Elsa had made sure the program could not be overridden by anyone except her. There were too many things she wanted to explore with Anna tonight.

The next morning, laying wrapped in each others' arms in the bunk, Elsa woke first. She began to tickle Anna gently, having discovered her special sensitive spots in the course of her exam. "Morning, sleepyhead!"

Anna mumbled something incoherent and snuggled closer to Elsa. "Reporting for duty, ma'am. What are your orders?" Anna's words were somewhat muffled since she had buried her face between Elsa's breasts.

Elsa giggled, then pulled Anna up so that she could begin trailing kisses down Anna's neck, starting with a nibble at her earlobe, then her cheek, a quick peck on the mouth, her collarbone …

"AH!" Anna gasped as Elsa's lips continued their exploration. "Going for extra credit, are we?"

"Always, my darling. I will never have enough of you. I love you."

Pulling Elsa closer, Anna began to review more of the course material when she heard a squeak. Then another one. Puzzled, she lifted her head and looked over Elsa's shoulder to see a snowgie hopping up and down, grinning at them. "ELSA! I thought the door was locked!"

Elsa turned to look at the snowgie and laughed, "It is, mi corazon, but William must have snuck in behind me last night. He's the most devoted to you, I'm sure he didn't want to be left out."

"William? They have names?" Funny Anna had never realized that before.

"Yes, of course. William is the one who loves you the most, almost as much as I do. But Bacon is a close second, I'm surprised he isn't here, too."

Anna fell back heavily onto her pillow and groaned. Then shrieked and levitated off the bunk as Elsa had picked up William and playfully put him on Anna's tummy. Her bare tummy.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold!" Anna huffed and glared at Elsa.

Elsa giggled, then carefully placed William back on the floor and shooed him away. Turning back to Anna, she said, "Here, dear one, let me warm you up."

Anna had to admit that Elsa's lips did a fine job of warming. "Ohhhh," a moan of pleasure escaped those lips. "I do so love you, Anna."

"And I love you, dear Elsa, you are my true love, and my heart is yours and yours alone."

"You are my knight in shining armor, Anna."

"A knight? Then you were a queen, the Queen of Isolation." Anna murmured. "But you'll never be alone again, I promise, my queen."

~fin~


End file.
